Hosts Vietnam fear Asian Games false start

HANOI — With its economy in crisis, a decaying sports infrastructure and an
uninspiring athletics record, it is little wonder many Vietnamese fear Hanoi is
ill-prepared to host the 2019 Asian Games.

There was scant public jubilation when the communist country's capital was
chosen to host the region's largest sporting event, making it the first
Southeast Asian nation for 20 years to hold the showpiece competition.

Fears over whether Vietnam can pull off the event bounce around the city's
coffee shops and beer gardens.

"A hope is born but concerns spread through society. You cannot imagine (a
host) facing more difficulties," said Do Minh Tuan, a 52-year-old Hanoi-based
academic.

The government has set an initial budget of $150 million to pay for the
Games, which will be held in November 2019.

The money will come out of a $30 billion pot to develop Hanoi over the next
decade and bring much-needed transport including a new sky-train, roads and
bridges to ease congestion in the city, which is known for its seething mass of
motorcycles.

But hosting the 18th Asian Games within budget will take some doing,
according to sports journalist Nguyen Nguyen, who said it will have to be one
of the most "super economical" events ever held.

Vietnam's Olympic Committee had initially proposed a budget of around $300
million, he said, but the government slashed the sum as a result of the
country's dire economic predicament.

It is experiencing falling growth as the effects of corruption and
inefficiencies in the state-run sector ripple out into the wider economy and a
lingering banking crisis threatens some of the country's key financial
institutions.

The real cost of the Games, scheduled to run for 16 days, is likely to be
much higher, but sports authorities have declined to provide detailed
projections.

"It will be very regrettable if Vietnam does not rise to this occasion,"
Hoang Vinh Giang, the secretary general of Vietnam's Olympic Committee, told
AFP.

Hanoi won the right to host the Games on November 8, beating Indonesia's
second city Surabaya after Dubai in the United Arab Emirates pulled out just
before the vote.

Vietnam expects some 10,000 athletes and coaches from 45 nations and
territories in Asia to flock to Vietnam for the Games, which are usually a
major source of pride for the host nation.

The Games will feature events including athletics, boxing, gymnastics and
swimming, alongside lesser-known sports including the martial art of wushu and
the kick-volleyball game of sepak takraw.

Chinese megacity Guangzhou confirmed its status as a major Asian hub by
hosting the 2010 edition, while the South Korean city of Incheon will be the
venue for the 2014 competition.

But Vietnam does not have the same level of sporting infrastructure in place
as its regional rivals nor the resources of China and South Korea.

Compounding the gloom is the fact that Vietnam is a sporting minnow, despite
its near 90 million population, in a region scored by fierce local
rivalries.

Over the last 20 years, the authoritarian regime has invested in sport to
the limit of its means, but experts say there is not a single discipline at
which the country truly excels.

"Training our athletes and coaches, as well as logistics planning, are the
biggest problems," said Giang, who added that the "political stability" of the
country a one-party state was a huge asset for planning the
event.

The poor quality of the host's athletes and coaching network is heightened
by the degraded state of the sporting infrastructure they must use -- national
stadiums are poorly maintained while public swimming pools are unhygienic and
overcrowded.

Vietnam has a number of stadiums left from its hosting of the 2003 Southeast
Asian Games, which is a minnow compared to the Asiad regional event, but they
have not been kept up to international standards.

The government plans to use around 500 hectares on the outskirts of Hanoi to
build a so-called "Center for the Asian Games" and an athletes' village.

But across the city the same refrain is common among sports fans and experts
-- with the country in major economic difficulties, organising a regional
sporting event amounts to over-reaching.

"Vietnam has not the money nor infrastructure nor experience to organise
this event. And a seven-year deadline will prove too short," said Bui Quang
Hoang, a 58-year-old public transport engineer.

"People have economic concerns, and information about the organisation of
the Asian games lacks clarity and transparency," said Hoang.

The communist regime is good at pomp and ceremonies.

In 2010, to mark the 1,000th anniversary of Hanoi's founding, they organised
a 10-day celebration with flags and schoolchildren in costumes.

But many remain to be convinced of whether they can deliver a sporting event
that is up to international standards.

Even Nguyen Hong Minh, a retired top sporting official, said Asiad-18 will
be an "enormous challenge" for Vietnam, especially as its economy is currently
in its worst state for decades.